Sheriff's deputy called into ballot battle

With a bizarre twist that required a deputy sheriff visiting the county Bureau of Elections, proponents of a study of Lackawanna County's Home Rule Charter filed signed petitions Monday that they believe should eventually ensure the study is on the May 21 primary election ballot.

They filed petitions two weeks earlier than expected because they feared the county commissioners could block the study today.

The commissioners moved up their Feb. 13 meeting to this morning. The agenda includes adoption of a proposal to put the question of eliminating elections of four row offices on the ballot.

Charter study proponent Chuck Volpe said the commissioners' adoption of the row office ballot question today might have legally prevented a study of the entire charter if his group did not file its petitions Monday.

Mr. Volpe wants the county to do away with the three-commissioner form of government and replace it with an elected county executive who reports to a part-time county council. A charter study commission would not be required to adopt that form of government.

He accused the commissioners of moving up the adoption to make their idea to eliminate row offices "legally pending" first and to disenfranchise "the voters and taxpayers who may want to have an open and fair discussion" about a full study.

"This is a smoke-filled, back-room, back-alley, Tammany Hall move to basically preclude voters from having a say in our legitimate referendum," Mr. Volpe said. "Isn't this disgusting what they tried to do? Really? First their allegedly bullying people and threatening jobs. And once they realized that there clearly is a tremendous public movement and outcry for this and 'God forbid, Chuck Volpe might just get this on the ballot.' You try to do business like business has been done for 100 years in Lackawanna County."

Last week, Mr. Volpe accused county Commissioner Jim Wansacz of threatening the job of a county worker and warning the worker's father against gathering signatures for Mr. Volpe's ballot push. Mr. Wansacz denies doing any such thing.

Because the county commissioners will sit as the Board of Elections and might decide on the ballot questions, county Commissioner Corey O'Brien said he could not answer if the row-office question vote was moved up to make it "legally pending" first.

"We're not apologizing for providing the public with as much information as possible with respect to our ordinance to cut the size of government by a million bucks ... as soon as possible," Mr. O'Brien said. "While other people talk about smaller government, we provide people with an opportunity. ... I think it's important and prudent to withhold any kind of judgment until we hear from those proposing ballot questions at the appropriate time. We want to make sure this is done right and following all the legal requirements. The people deserve that."

Attorney Joseph O'Brien, who was asked by the commissioners to review the matter, said he could not respond to Mr. Volpe's claim about why the meeting was rescheduled to an earlier date.

Mr. Volpe said his lawyers' interpretation of state law is that whichever idea to change the Home Rule Charter is "legally pending" first is the one that goes on the ballot. His group filed more than one third of the signatures necessary Monday to make the charter study question "legally pending" first, he said. More than 2,000 signatures on 106 petitions were filed Monday, Mr. Volpe's lawyer, attorney Todd A. Johns, said. The petition drive still needs to obtain a total 3,490 signatures by Feb. 19 to actually qualify for the ballot.

"I think our commissioners tried to pull a fast one," Mr. Volpe said of moving up the meeting.

Mr. Volpe said the filing of the signatures Monday means the commissioners' plan to eliminate the row offices should not be on the ballot.

"Since we beat them to the punch ... theirs gets kicked out," he said. "There won't be two questions on the ballot."

Mr. Johns arrived at the Bureau of Elections about 3 p.m. Monday to file the signed petitions for charter study.

Unfamiliar with the procedures for accepting petitions for a charter study, director of elections Marion Medalis said she called county officials for help on what she should do.

About 3:45 p.m., county solicitor Don Frederickson arrived at the bureau office off Stafford Avenue in South Scranton, Mr. Johns said.

Mr. Johns said Mr. Frederickson told him the county would accept the petitions conditionally "for purposes of legal review."

Mr. Frederickson reviewed about 25 petitions and removed one because the printed name of its circulator did not exactly match the signature, Mr. Johns said. The solicitor invited Mr. Johns to come back this morning or to leave the petitions behind with the understanding they would only be accepted after a review by the county, Mr. Johns said.

Then, Mr. Frederickson left, saying he had to meet with a client, Mr. Johns said.

An effort to reach Mr. Frederickson was unsuccessful.

Mr. Johns refused to leave until the county agreed to accept the petitions unconditionally.

Normally, he said, county procedure is to accept petitions, and then allow people to challenge the validity of signatures.

About 5 p.m., an hour after the bureau's normal closing time, Mr. Johns argued with Joseph O'Brien over a bureau telephone.

"Whether it's an unusual situation or not, the people of this county have the right to have their voice heard and they are attempting to file a petition to allow them to have an issue placed before the voters. And I am not being allowed to file it," Mr. Johns told Mr. O'Brien. "It is being appropriately filed. It's not being accepted. ... I am not leaving this building until those (petitions) get accepted or the sheriff takes me out. And I'm not creating this situation. Don Frederickson and whoever is behind this is. I brought in my lawfully executive petitions by the voters of this county and they are not being accepted."

Mr. O'Brien told Mr. Johns he wanted to review them first.

"No, you don't get to review them. They are accepted, they are filed and then they are reviewed," Mr. Johns said.

Mr. O'Brien told Mr. Johns he had been working on election law for 20 years.

"Oh, have you? Well, I've been working on campaigns since I was 12 years old and I have never seen a petition that has to be reviewed before it's accepted," Mr. Johns said. "If you're a solicitor for 20 years, then you know that these need to be accepted and that this is wrong."

Given Mr. Johns' refusal to leave, Mrs. Medalis, acting on Joseph O'Brien's advice, took up Mr. Johns' idea and called the sheriff's office. She also stamped a piece of paper saying the petitions were "Accepted for Legal Review per Joe O'Brien" and gave a copy to Mr. Johns.

For the next 90 minutes, Mrs. Medalis, Mr. Johns and a reporter and photographer for The Times-Tribune conversed cordially waiting for a deputy sheriff to arrive to evict Mr. Johns.

At 6:39 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Craig Blasi finally arrived and shook hands with Mr. Johns, who asked if the deputy was instructing him to leave.

"I guess so," the deputy said.

Mr. Johns immediately stepped outside and asked the deputy again if he was asking him to leave.

Deputy Blasi said his instructions were actually to stay with him in the office, not to ask the attorney leave. Moments later, the door to the office was locked and everyone left.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Dom Manetti denied the deputy was asked to escort Mr. Johns out of the building.

"My instructions to him (Deputy Blasi) were to go up there, sit inside and stay with him as long as the attorney wanted to stay there." Deputy Manetti said. "I had a midnight shift scheduled to go up (to relieve the deputy)."

Mr. O'Brien said he would review both ballot questions and determine their legality.

"Because there hasn't been a government study commission in Lackawanna County in 40 years and there's never been an attempt to amend the Home Rule Charter, and there are very few (court cases) from other jurisdictions in dealing with this, they (the commissioners) have asked to make sure it's done right." Mr. O'Brien said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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